Tonneau covers are popular among truck owners not only because of their ability to enhance the appearance of the truck but also to provide a level of protection for items contained in the truck bed that may be noticed by would-be thieves, or simply to provide protection from environmental exposure.
Tonneau covers typically fall into one of two types, hard covers or soft covers. Hard covers are typically formed of a molded synthetic material such as fiberglass or vinyl that are hingedly mounted to the vehicle so as to be lifted up in one or more directions to provide access to the cargo bed. Gas cylinders are attached between a cover support frame and the cover to assist the user in lifting and holding the cover.
Soft tonneau covers are also known which utilize a frame structure for supporting a canvas or soft vinyl material that is disposed over the frame attached to the walls of the truck bed.
In many cases, installation of either of these types of covers becomes tedious and time consuming and in other cases requires that through-holes be made in the truck bed walls in order to facilitate the mounting of the frame structure thereto.
The present invention provides a truck bed cover and frame assembly that enables fast and efficient mounting of hard and soft tonneau covers without the need of having through-holes disposed in the truck bed walls for mounting thereto.